use (yo?oz)v. used, us·ing, us·es v.tr.1. To put into service or employ for a purpose: I used a whisk to beat the eggs. The song uses only three chords.2. To avail oneself of; practice: use caution.3. To conduct oneself toward; treat or handle: “the peace offering of a man who once used you unkindly” (Laurence Sterne).4. To seek or achieve an end by means of; exploit: used their highly placed friends to gain access to the president; felt he was being used by seekers of favor.5. a. To take or consume for a purpose: She used her savings to buy a computer.b. To partake of, especially as a habit: She rarely uses alcohol.v.intr.1. (yo?os, yo?ost) Used in the past tense followed by to in order to indicate a former state, habitual practice, or custom: Mail service used to be faster.2. Slang To take an illegal or narcotic drug, especially as a habit.n. (yo?os)1. a. The act of using something; the application or employment of something for a purpose: with the use of a calculator; skilled in the use of the bow and arrow.b. The condition or fact of being used: a chair in regular use.2. The manner of using; usage: learned the proper use of power tools.3. a. The permission, privilege, or benefit of using something: gave us the use of their summerhouse.b. The power or ability to use something: lost the use of one arm.4. The need or occasion to use or employ something: I have no use for these old clothes.5. The quality of being suitable or adaptable to an end; usefulness: I tried to be of use in the kitchen.6. A purpose for which something is used: a tool with several uses; a pretty bowl, but of what use is it?7. Gain or advantage; good: There’s no use in discussing it. What’s the use?8. a. Accustomed or usual procedure or practice: “We are but creatures of use and custom” (Mark Twain).b. A particular custom or practice: uses introduced by recent immigrants.9. Law a. Enjoyment of property, as by occupying or employing it.b. The benefit or profit of lands and tenements of which the legal title is vested in another.c. The arrangement establishing the equitable right to such benefits and profits.10. A liturgical form practiced in a particular church, ecclesiastical district, or community.Phrasal Verb: use up To consume completely: used up all our money.Idiom: make use of To use for a purpose.[Middle English usen, from Old French user, from Vulgar Latin *?s?re, frequentative of Latin ?t?. N., Middle English, from Old French us, from Latin ?sus, from past participle of ?t?.]Usage Note: The verb use is used in the past tense with an infinitive to indicate a past condition or habitual practice: We used to live in that house. Because the -d in used has merged with the t of to and is not pronounced in these constructions, people sometimes mistakenly leave it out when writing. Thus it is incorrect to write We use to play tennis. When do occurs with this form of use in negative statements and in questions, the situation is reversed, and use to (not used to) is correct: You did not use to play on that team. Didn’t she use to work for your company?American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.use vb (tr) 1. to put into service or action; employ for a given purpose: to use a spoon to stir with. 2. to make a practice or habit of employing; exercise: he uses his brain. 3. to behave towards: to use a friend well. 4. to behave towards in a particular way for one’s own ends: he uses people. 5. to consume, expend, or exhaust: the engine uses very little oil. 6. chiefly US and Canadian to partake of (alcoholic drink, drugs, etc) or smoke (tobacco, marijuana, etc) n 7. the act of using or the state of being used: the carpet wore out through constant use. 8. the ability, right, or permission to use 9. the occasion to use; need: I have no use for this paper. 10. an instance or manner of using 11. usefulness; advantage: it is of no use to complain. 12. custom; practice; habit: long use has inured him to it. 13. the purpose for which something is used; end 14. (Ecclesiastical Terms) Christianity a distinctive form of liturgical or ritual observance, esp one that is traditional in a Church or group of Churches 15. (Law) the enjoyment of property, land, etc, by occupation or by deriving revenue or other benefit from it 16. (Law) law the beneficial enjoyment of property the legal title to which is held by another person as trustee 17. (Law) law an archaic word for trust7 18. (Philosophy) philosophy logic linguistics the occurrence of an expression in such a context that it performs its own linguistic function rather than being itself referred to. In “Fido” refers to Fido, the name Fido is ‘used’ only on the second occurrence, first being mentioned. Compare mention7 See also material mode 19. (Logic) philosophy logic linguistics the occurrence of an expression in such a context that it performs its own linguistic function rather than being itself referred to. In “Fido” refers to Fido, the name Fido is ‘used’ only on the second occurrence, first being mentioned. Compare mention7 See also material mode 20. (Linguistics) philosophy logic linguistics the occurrence of an expression in such a context that it performs its own linguistic function rather than being itself referred to. In “Fido” refers to Fido, the name Fido is ‘used’ only on the second occurrence, first being mentioned. Compare mention7 See also material mode 21. have no use for a. to have no need of b. to have a contemptuous dislike for 22. make use of a. to employ; use b. to exploit (a person) [C13: from Old French user to use, from Latin ?sus having used, from ?t? to use]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014use (v. yuz or, for pt. form of 9, yust; n. yus) v. used, us?ing, n. v.t. 1. to employ for some purpose; put into service: to use a knife. 2. to avail oneself of; apply to one’s own purposes: to use the facilities. 3. to consume, expend, or exhaust (often fol. by up). 4. to treat or behave toward: He used his employees well. 5. to take unfair advantage of; exploit. 6. to drink, smoke, or ingest habitually: to use drugs. 7. to habituate or accustom. v.i. 8. to be accustomed, wont, or customarily found (used with an infinitive expressed or understood, and, except in archaic use, now only in the past): He used to go every day. 9. Archaic. to resort, stay, or dwell customarily. n. 10. the act of using or the state of being used. 11. an instance or way of using something: a painter’s use of color. 12. a way of being used; a purpose for which something is used. 13. the power, right, or privilege of using something: to lose the use of an eye. 14. service or advantage in or for being used; utility or usefulness: of no practical use. 15. help; profit; resulting good: What’s the use of complaining? 16. occasion or need, as for something to be used: Have you any use for another calendar? 17. continued, habitual, or customary employment or practice; custom. 18. Law. a. the enjoyment of property, as by occupation or employment of it. b. the benefits or profits of property held by another for the beneficiary. 19. the distinctive form of ritual or of any liturgical observance used in a particular church, diocese, community, etc. Idioms: 1. have no use for, a. to have no need for. b. to feel intolerant of or indifferent to: to have no use for one’s employees. c. to have a strong distaste for; dislike intensely: to have no use for cheating. 2. make use of, to use, esp. effectively; employ. 3. put to use, to find a function for; utilize. [1175?1225; (v.) Middle English If you employ someone, you pay them to work for you.If something is employed for a particular purpose, it is used for that purpose. You can say, for example, that a particular method or technique is employed.You can also say that a machine, tool, or weapon is employed.However, employ is a formal word when it is used to talk about such things as methods or tools. You usually say that a method or tool is used.